[Quick Help!!!] Sooo I did something stupid "Wort left for 7+ days" -- now bubbling

[mister704]

Soooo I planned to brew my beer and get it started before I left for vacation.

So I brewed a tasty batch of WHAT would be my Belgian with Honey and Orange peels.

Brewed fine, chilled it down(70F) with wort chiller. Planned to pitch yeast next morning after I let the starter cold crash.

Was leaving for Mexico that morning I planned to pitch (I have a ferm chamber and a bucket within a bucket so IF she was to go crazy it would be alright). BUT SWMBO screwed my time up that morning and didnt get to pitch the yeast.

Get back in town and airlock is filled with old fermentation and wort is fermentating and bubbling. HOW bad am I screwed?


I am debating pitching the entire beer. It sat in the basement around 68F for 7 days. It doesnt smell crazy really but I am trying to decide to just re-brew or run to the local store and just drop in some Safbrew S-33 and just let it go for the hell of it.

What do you think?!?

 

[MarkZ56]

I mean, if it is bubbling along it is probably making beer right?

 

[mister704]

I mean, if it is bubbling along it is probably making beer right?

True...but in what fashion? Lambic style Im guessing?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

pitch some more yeast and let it ride, or just let it ride if you are down for the experiment.

Do you still have your starter?

 

[Aristotelian]

Too many good things can happen here. Could be residual yeast from a previous batch. Could be spontaneous yeast from the air. If there is an infection the damage is already done. I would let it go (with or without an additional pitch of the S-33) and taste it as long as it still looks like beer.

 

[kh54s10]

Pitching more yeast is just going to cost you $$. It has already, mostly (probably) fermented. With any luck it fermented from a good strain of wild yeast or a yeast that somehow survived in your equipment. Wait and see, but I don't hold much hope. In the mean time you could brew the recipe again, add to your starter and start again.

 

[BeerEngineer15]

I agree with @KH54s10, just let it go and see what happens. I'd brew the beer that you intended to brew again just to have that when you want it. Don't waste the money on more yeast unless you have some old yeast laying around that may be expired or about to. Maybe you will have the most amazing beer ever and you will want to create a yeast blend from whatever is fermenting this batch! Whatever you do don't dump it out if it still looks and smells like beer!

 

[m00ps]

Where do you brew and what type of environment was the chilled wort exposed to before you sealed up the fermentor? If it was outside or near any possible source of grain dust or pollen, I'd say 99% chance its a wild yeast/bacteria that is fermenting your beer

The good news is, it doesnt smell rancid so whatever it is was capable of fully/mostly fermenting your wort. I think itll likely be sour, but you can hope it wont be offensively sour

 

[RedlegEd]

Too many good things can happen here. Could be residual yeast from a previous batch. Could be spontaneous yeast from the air. If there is an infection the damage is already done. I would let it go (with or without an additional pitch of the S-33) and taste it as long as it still looks like beer.

Pitching more yeast is just going to cost you $$. It has already, mostly (probably) fermented. With any luck it fermented from a good strain of wild yeast or a yeast that somehow survived in your equipment. Wait and see, but I don't hold much hope. In the mean time you could brew the recipe again, add to your starter and start again.

I agree with @KH54s10, just let it go and see what happens. I'd brew the beer that you intended to brew again just to have that when you want it. Don't waste the money on more yeast unless you have some old yeast laying around that may be expired or about to. Maybe you will have the most amazing beer ever and you will want to create a yeast blend from whatever is fermenting this batch! Whatever you do don't dump it out if it still looks and smells like beer!

This could turn out to be the best beer you've ever made! If so, you'd better save the yeast cake. Who knows, you might have discovered a whole new strain!?!?

 

[mister704]

Where do you brew and what type of environment was the chilled wort exposed to before you sealed up the fermentor? If it was outside or near any possible source of grain dust or pollen, I'd say 99% chance its a wild yeast/bacteria that is fermenting your beer

The good news is, it doesnt smell rancid so whatever it is was capable of fully/mostly fermenting your wort. I think itll likely be sour, but you can hope it wont be offensively sour

I was out on my deck. I spray everything religiously during and post with starsan water. From there I immediately cooled it from the 212 down to about 80. Put in the starsan soaked fermenting bucket. Let it cool on its own down for about 2 hrs then put in the ferment chamber.

This could turn out to be the best beer you've ever made! If so, you'd better save the yeast cake. Who knows, you might have discovered a whole new strain!?!?

Well we will see. I decided hell I might as well play with it. I had some wine yeast Lalvin ICV- K1-V1116 which I know is for white fruity white which actually have been used in beer before and is known for taking over wild yeast sooooo I threw it in.

Hell at this point, I was about to throw the batch away anyways...why not see what I come up with.

 

[spittybug]

It sounds like what the guys at Draai Laag Brewery in Pittsburgh do. Had some fantastic wild beers there....yeast spores came from hundreds of year old scrapings from a piece of furniture! Check them out, they are featured in the August edition of Beer Advocate. Let it ride!

 

[oceanic_brew]

How you doing for IBU's on that batch ?

 

[mister704]

How you doing for IBU's on that batch ?

Well its low IBU. I was shooting for 30IBUs as I used 1.5oz of Styrian Goldings.

 

[Ruckusz28]

Watch this turn out awesome.

 

[mongoose33]

This is the best argument ever for multiple fermenters. You have to see this one through to whatever it ends up being. IMO you also should consider trying to harvest the yeast at the end, in case this ends up to be a fabulous beer and you want to reproduce it.

Meanwhile, with another fermenter you could start another beer while this experiment runs its course.

Just sayin'.

 

[mister704]

I do appreciate the confidence in my Frankenstein creation. We damn sure going to find out what has come from these past few interesting weeks